Parker, other big names testify

Updated 9:58 pm, Monday, August 22, 2011

A hearing for a misdemeanor case in the Harris County Courthouse rarely gets much attention.

But Monday, a lineup of this city's powerful and prominent - the mayor, police chief, community activist Quanell X and famed attorneys - all testified in such a legal proceeding, necessitated by a video that went viral in Houston.

Mayor Annise Parker and HPD Chief Charles McClelland testified Monday that four police officers accused of official oppression in an alleged beating of a teenager captured on tape can get a fair trial.

Several famed defense lawyers argued that the publicity surrounding the incident and the widely released videotape would make it impossible to find fair and impartial jurors in Harris County.

Attorneys for officers Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser argued that the trials should be moved because of pretrial publicity. The officers were indicted last year on misdemeanor official suppression charges and fired.

The officers want state District Judge Ruben Guerrero to grant a change of venue before the cases are set for trial.

Mayor Annise Parker talks with judge Ruben Guerrero during a change in venue hearing where she said that she believes HPD officers, Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hasan and Drew Ryser videotaped beating a teenage burglary suspect will be able to get a fair trial in Houston as she testified in the 174th District Court at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, in Houston. The video was recorded by a surveillance camera around 4 p.m. March 24, 2010, at Uncle Bob's Self-Storage at 8450 Cook near Beechnut shows Chad Holley, then 15, running away from police before he is clipped by an HPD cruiser. The boy then falls to the ground, rolls on the grass, flips onto his stomach and clamps his hands behind his head as officers appear to attack him forcefully. ( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle )

Mayor Annise Parker talks with judge Ruben Guerrero during a change in venue hearing where she said that she believes HPD officers, Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hasan and Drew Ryser videotaped beating a

Next to state District Judge Ruben Guerrero, right, attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes testifies during a change of venue hearing involving HPD officers, Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser in the 174th District Court at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, in Houston. A video was recorded by a surveillance camera around 4 p.m. March 24, 2010, at Uncle Bob's Self-Storage at 8450 Cook near Beechnut shows Chad Holley, then 15, running away from police before he is clipped by an HPD cruiser. The boy then falls to the ground, rolls on the grass, flips onto his stomach and clamps his hands behind his head as officers appear to attack him forcefully. ( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle )

Noted attorneys Richard "Racehorse" Haynes and Kent Schaffer also testified they signed affidavits that it would be "difficult if not impossible" for the officers to get a fair trial.

Although called by the defense, Parker testified she now believes the officers can be tried fairly in Houston. She acknowledged that she originally said the public release of the tape would jeopardize the prosecution of the officers.

The officers' trials, she said, is not her primary concern when she speaks publicly about the case.

"I'm more concerned about how the citizens of Houston and the police interact from here going forward," Parker said on the witness stand. "I believed that the officers were wrong and discipline was appropriate."

Asked specific questions about the videotape by defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, Parker said it was "ugly" and "disgusting."

The footage shows Chad Holley, then 15, being clipped by an HPD cruiser as he fled police around 4 p.m. March 24, 2010.

Video recorded by a surveillance camera at Uncle Bob's Self-Storage in southwest Houston shows Holley falling to the ground, flipping onto his stomach and clasping his hands behind his head.

A half-dozen officers then swarm him, hitting, kicking and stomping the teen. He was arrested and ultimately convicted of burglary.

HPD Chief Charles McClelland also testified, saying the four officers should be tried in Houston despite the release of the video or statements made by public officials.

"The incident happened here. The Houston Police Department serves its community," McClelland said. "Certainly, they should be allowed to sit in judgment of Houston police officers."

He said holding the trial in Houston would help build community trust.

McClelland said he also opposed the release of the tape at first because of the effect it could have on trials. He also said officers have told him the release has been a "setback" to sometimes tense relations between police and the community.

"I agree that it did have a negative impact on the image of the Houston Police Department," he said.

Quanell X, who released the videotape to a television station that broadcast it, testified he was glad Houston saw it before trial.

"I was successful in getting the tape out," he testified. He said two other news stations refused to show the video, because its release had been forbidden by three judges in three separate legal proceedings, including a federal lawsuit.

(This reporter also was subpoenaed to testify in this case but refused to answer any questions on the witness stand. The judge declined to compel the reporter to testify.)

Eight officers were suspended without pay while HPD's internal affairs division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office conducted separate investigations.

Bryan and Hassan also were charged with violation of the civil rights of a prisoner.

Official oppression and violating a prisoner's rights are both Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

A Harris County grand jury rejected felony charges after seeing the videotape.